ZEPHON News

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[h3]Sound Effects[/h3]

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This time we’re putting extra effort into creating custom sound effects for every ability.
But aural enhancements don’t end there.

[h3]Weapon Sounds[/h3]

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In Gladius we only used single-shot weapon sounds—even for automatic weapons. This often decreased fidelity, overburdened the audio mix and decreased performance.

ZEPHON not only utilizes continuous-fire sounds where appropriate, but also supports wind-up/down sounds and delay firing of individual weapons.

The additional sounds let us create things like realistic whirring-up and cooling-down of machine cannons. Staggering when weapons fire adds drama and distinction to the attacks. The resulting experience is much more pleasant.

[h3]Algorithmic Variation[/h3]

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We also have a new computational technique: algorithmic sound variation.

It’s common to vary the pitch of a sound effect each time it’s played—you see this in sound effect tutorials all over the internet. We go a few steps further.

On top of randomizing the pitch and volume over the whole sound, we’re also using digital signal processing to take several randomized portions of the frequency spectrum and attenuating or amplifying them to varying amounts.

For looping sounds (like continuous weapon fire, movement and ambient), we’re additionally randomizing the offset at which point the sound starts playing.

All of this is to prevent listener fatigue—to try to keep the feeling fresh, but familiar.

[h3]UI Ambiance[/h3]

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Immersion is of critical importance for us with ZEPHON. That’s why we’re creating unique ambiance clips for each different screen, leader and quest.

This is it for audio for the moment; we’ll have more, exciting reveals about voice-overs later down the line.

What do you think of the improved audio systems?

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[h3]Research[/h3]
ZEPHON’s research continues the tradition of a tiered progression system. It will feature over 150 technologies across 10 tiers. To advance from one tier to the next, 3 technologies are required.

That may sound like a lot compared to Gladius, but we’re reducing research costs by 33% to compensate. Instead of a baseline of 6 turns to unlock a new technology, it will now only take 4 turns.

If that’s not to your taste for any reason, research cost and unlocks per tier will be customizable per game as a world setting.

Players begin by attempting to recover from a primitive and scrappy level of technology in the first third of the game (post-apocalyptic, think Mad Max), followed by a more advanced second third (Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell paired with magic), to a highly advanced last third (Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space universe or Dan Simmons’ Hyperion).

Each leader will also have 5 special technologies to enhance their unique properties—spread evenly through the research tiers.

We are pushing the boundaries of modifiers to new degrees. It’s very exciting to see conditional building bonuses in action—scaling building output depending on terrain features or even synergizing with other buildings to create combat effects in a radius.

To make all of this clear, we’re adding an often-requested Gladius feature: showing exact modifier numbers in technology hints. No need to search through the compendium for the information anymore.



[h3]Specimen Containment[/h3]



Many of our early learnings were rediscovering what went before. In time, though, we realised how much the familiar had shifted—how far man had killed off Earth’s species before the Acrin even arrived and how much new life the aliens had brought with them across the stars, life that filled out the world’s emptied niches. Capturing and studying that new life proved to be inspirational for our eventual victory…

Tier 1 : Human : Player Upgrade

Gain research from killing unaligned neutral units.

[h3]In Death, Life[/h3]



An old flame once told me how the Aztecs or the Mayans—one of those dead empires—how their gods drew power from bloody sacrifice in their city centers. I didn’t understand what she meant until I saw troops mown down on the doorstep of a Voice-corrupted city and heard the unearthly ullulation from within. Whether it was true magic or just motivation, that city grew strong on death.

Tier 3 : Voice : Building Upgrade

Regain production from biological units that die in 6 tile radius from the headquarters in each Canticle of Dusk in the city.

[h3]The Mind's Eye[/h3]



When I was a young fool, gossip went around; of a scientist, a genius, who died attempting to fulfil that old billionaire dream of living forever by uploading herself. It didn’t work, of course-the giant machine was inert, unmotivated, left operating as a curiosity. Until ZEPHON found it and brought that mind to life, focussing its will as a weapon against the invading Acrin. In time, its—I should say, ‘her’—her will could stretch for miles, a thought could snuff out an enemy half a world away. A good reason not to gossip anymore…

Tier 5 : Cyber : Unit Upgrade : Emulated Mind Leader Special

Doubles Oblivion weapon range on headquarters.


What do you think of the new research mechanics? Discuss it below and let us know!


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Items
Heroes are upgradeable and customizable in more ways than just through leveling up their skills.

Items can be bought from The Concordat and equipped on hero units—up to 6 items at a time. Each item comes from a path and rare items of a path can only be purchased after unlocking the appropriate research.

Unlike in Gladius, items can be bought from anywhere and transferred to a hero on the next turn. One-use items have categorically been replaced with cooldown-based items.


The Concordat



Everyone knew The Concordat. But no-one knew who they were. Maybe survivors on the surface, maybe a ZEPHON-fork, maybe an old Corp reaching outta the 20th century’s grave. They fed the rumor mill, hiding their truth under the chatter. All we did know was that they traded everything to everyone—and that they never made a loss.


Trauma Kit



Our medics… well, they were amateurs. But they’d survived and they patched you up just enough to get back into the field. The Concordat’s kits, though, they were… something else. The best of the old world mixed with whatever the AIs and aliens knew. They called it a “trauma kit”, but the real trauma was seeing that *thing* open you up and put you back together. If you could forget it, worth every cent.

Common item. Restore 33% hitpoints. Free action. Cooldown 10.

Rare Human items are unlocked for purchase from The Concordat by researching The Golden Pass.


Acrin Bone Whistle



“At kirk, or at market, whene'er ye meet me,
Gang by me as tho' that ye car'd na a flie;
But steal me a blink o' your bonie black e'e,
Yet look as ye were na lookin' to me,
Yet look as ye were na lookin' to me.
O whistle an' I'll come, &c.”
— Robert Burns

Uncommon item. Summon a Dark Vassael for 3 turns. Free action. Cooldown 10.

Rare Voice items are unlocked for purchase from The Concordat by researching Amoetia's Embrace.


Pathcutter



A wide-beam AI array, mounted on a prototype drone. Useless for combat, as it takes an hour to warm up. You set it up, point it where you want to go, and flip the safety off. Then cover your ears to its howl and follow. It finds impossibly perfect way through the most tangled jungle, plant or urban, paths you can never find again.

Rare item. Gain +3 movement and ignore movement penalties of forests and ruins for 1 turn. Free action. Cooldown 5.

Rare Cyber items are unlocked for purchase from The Concordat by researching Ha'sharet Exchange.



What do you think of the new item mechanics?


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Join our Discord to follow each segment of a reveal as it happens every Monday.


Heroes



Heroes in ZEPHON are rare, powerful units that can manifest extraordinary abilities to vanquish their foes or protect their allies. They can equip items and increase the strength of their special abilities as they level up.

There are a total of six heroes, with two available from following each path—an early hero and a large mid-game hero. Unlike our previous game Warhammer 40,000: Gladius, these units are produced in the headquarters available to each city from the start instead of a special building.

One of our six heroes follows.

Erelim Assassin

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This creation looks to have been inspired by Dick's Second Variety—just a normal looking human, until it gets near enough then everything just unfolds into blades upon blades upon blades.

The initial hero of the Cybernetica path. A synthetic machine designed for deceit and murder. Its combination of advanced technology, superior agility and precision enables it to infiltrate enemy lines and assassinate targets at will. Although innocent-looking, peering behind the mask reveals a mechanical monstrosity with blades sheathed inside synthetic skin. Being at the other end of these blades is fatal for anyone who is unlucky enough to be poorly armored. If the first strike does not end you, a critical thrust at your weak points will.

Attributes:
Group size: 1
Hitpoints: 32
Armor: 4
Movement: 3
Accuracy: 10
Morale: 12

Traits:
Agile: Not slowed by forests or ruins.
Hero: Category.
Mechanical: Category.
Stealth: Does not provoke overwatch attacks. Performs overwatch attacks with melee weapons.

Weapons:
Erelim Blades: 2 damage, 3 armor penetration, 3 attacks, Melee.

Levelable Abilities:
Assassinate: Inflict a critical strike on an injured unit. On kill, enemy units lose additional morale.
Ghost Walk: Ignore zone of control restrictions and walk through enemies.
Evasion Processor: Temporarily reduces incoming damage.
Dance of the Erelim (Elite): Damage all adjacent enemies.

Cost:
24 Minerals, 24 Chips, 48 Influence

Upkeep:
2 Minerals, 2 Influence



What do you think of the Erelim Assassin?



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Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular reveals and exclusive closed betas to your inbox: https://newsletter.proxy-studios.com/

Join our Discord to follow each segment of a reveal as it happens every Monday.


Quests
High replayability and an immersive world are two key aspects for us in ZEPHON. Quests directly enhance both.

All but one final quest will semi-randomly occur during a playthrough. At predetermined time intervals, your chosen leader and your actions in the world—anything from your discoveries, communications, combat or economy—will determine which quest triggers.

At the core of each quest is a large illustration with custom ambient audio and meaningful player choices. Some choices may have an immediate consequence, but many will chain into further tasks.


Choices
Choices will reflect on the world, units and features on the map, your leader traits or what you can subsequently do and how you can interact with others. A number of choices will be locked behind special conditions, come with a cost, or be based on reputation as in other classic role-playing games.

To enforce the survival aspect, replayability and atmosphere, results won’t be shown until a choice is made. Choices also come with a risk of failure. Surviving in the world of ZEPHON is hard—no victory is guaranteed…


The Dream




Design Commentary
You have a weird dream. Grotesque beings are feasting on your soul. What does it mean? Is it a warning? Or are the demons of your past coming for revenge? You can't explain it yourself and no one around you has a meaningful answer.

The ask options only appear if you've met the corresponding leader. And the “Ask your sisters” option is exclusive to when you’re playing as the Furtive Tribunal.

A prime example of interacting with other NPC leaders of the world and getting answers based on who they are. The Fluid Anchorite might teach you how to handle your mind with more prowess. Otherwise ZEPHON might be able to decrypt the enigma. But if these polemicizing NPCs aren’t to your taste, asking the manic Hesitant Reaver is bound to help… somehow… surely?



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